Rio Tinto Plc has lost a tiny radioactive device in Western Australia on a barren stretch of road longer than Italy. This is what we know so far:
Where was it lost?
A truck arrived at one of Rio Tinto’s giant iron ore mines in Australia’s Pilbara region on January 12 after driving 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from a shipping depot in Perth. He was there to collect a faulty piece of technical equipment “used to measure the density of iron ore” and return it to Perth for repair. The device, about the size of a milk bottle, contained a tiny contraption of radioactive silver, cylindrical and less than a centimeter long.
The package containing the device returned to Perth on January 16, where it was placed in a radiation-proof facility. But when the package was opened on January 25, the device had been broken and the widget was nowhere to be seen.
How did it disappear?
That remains a mystery. Western Australian Police say there is no evidence of criminal activity (they were quick to point out that the capsule cannot be used in weapons). All the screws were missing from the device containing the widget when the package was opened in Perth, so it is assumed that the capsule was dropped in transit. Fortunately, the path is extremely isolated, so it is unlikely that someone will accidentally pick you up. On the other hand, finding a 6mm widget on such a long road makes finding a needle in a haystack sound easy.
How are they looking for it?
The Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services has sent a search party to scan the entire road using radiation detectors on the roofs of vehicles. They are working at about 50 km per hour, and the entire search should take about five days. So far, there has been no update on how the search is going. A department spokesman said the federal government also provided equipment to help track down the missing capsule. “What we’re not doing is trying to find a small device with the naked eye,” Superintendent Darryl Ray told the media over the weekend.
How dangerous is it?
Dangerous enough. The Western Australia Department of Health said it could cause radiation burns or serious illness and warned people not to touch or pick it up. The experts said the risk of remote contamination by radiation was relatively small, however direct contamination would be more serious.
“There would be initial reddening of the skin or tissue and, in severe cases, ulceration and possible tissue death,” Professor Dale Bailey, professor of medical imaging science at the University of Sydney, said in a statement. “If ingested, it could cause bleeding in the intestine and ulceration, which can lead to significant complications.”
What has Rio Tinto said?
Rio Tinto is still on a charm offensive after its reputation took a hit when it blew up ancient indigenous rock shelters in Western Australia in 2020. It was quick to apologize this week. “We are taking this incident very seriously,” chief executive Simon Trott said in a statement over the weekend. “We recognize that this is clearly very concerning and we are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community.”
What did the parcel manager say?
SGS SA, the Swiss contractor who discovered the capsule was missing, said Rio had hired it to package the device at the mine and then receive it in Perth, but not transport it. That was done by an anonymous “specialist carrier,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. He is assisting authorities with the search and recovery.
